Human rights

Turning off the tap on water as a human right

The new draft National Water Policy (NWP) in India, circulated by the Ministry of Water Resources to water experts, suggests that the government is poised to withdraw from its responsibilities of water service delivery, and that multinational corporations and financial institutions might have too big a say in water allocation and policy.

Corporatizing Water: India's Draft National Water policy

A Discussion on Gender and Water Scarcity

Shiney Varghese is a Senior Trade Policy Analyst at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP). Her area of expertise is global water policy and its impact on water and food security, and she has published works on the environment, gender and human rights.

World Water Day statement from the Water Justice Movement, March 22, 2011

World Water Day is observed every year on March 22 as a day of action to draw attention to the role that fresh water plays in our world and lives, and the challenges that lie ahead in realizing right to water for all. The past year has been momentous as far as the advancement of right to water goes. There have been two developments in the U.N.

Reclaiming rights on International Women’s Day centennial

The year 2011 started with the news of food price hikes around the world pushing even more people, especially women, into hunger. But then along came images of women in Egypt in the forefront of a revolution to get rid of a government that has been in power for over 30 years!

What Does the Right to Water Entail?

This article by Shiney Varghese was published February 28, 2011 on Alternet Given that nearly three quarters of the "water poor" belong to rural communities, it's time that international deliberations around the right to water focus on rural communities access to safe water.

Why Carbon Trading Can't Solve Our Water Crisis

A New York Time opinion article argues that one of the best ways to ensure that the world's poorest have access to water is through carbon trading. IATP's Shiney Varghese explains why that is incorrect.

UN General Assembly declares access to safe, clean drinking water and sanitation essential

On July 28, 2010, the UN General Assembly declared that "the right to drinking water and sanitation was essential for the full enjoyment of life." The resolution was introduced by Bolivia, and was co-sponsored by 39 countries.1 There were 122 states in favor, 0 opposed and 41 abstentions.

Response to request for input on human rights obligations in the context of private-sector participation in the provision of water and sanitation services

Which obligations do States bear in the context of private sector participation in the provision of water and sanitation services? What should the regulatory framework put into place by States provide for? Apart from regulation, what additional measures, structures and institutions are necessary?

Bottling water, boxing in communities

The release of the new video, ‘The story of bottled water,” on this World Water Day (2010) got me thinking.